D5 cambelt change procedure

[vickyg]

Hi all,
Cambelt change procedure for the D5 engine says undo the camshaft nut and refers to magic Volvo tool (I can see the latter is readily available on Amazon)

However I've seen several posts saying you can avoid undoing this by undoing the two 10mm bolts on the cam cover and cutting the old belt off. Can anyone here confirm they've had success doing this? I have neither the Volvo tool (yet) or a rattle gun. Also changing pulleys, water pump same time. Not sure if this "workaround" applies to a belt only change.

Cheers

[T5R92011]

Have a read of the below thread for more inisght:

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=317549&highlight=timing+belt

Also see the comments about the water pump.

[Brendan W]

Not exactly a stampede of replies
Most of us have seen discussion about the D5 belt change. It's really about the difficulty of removing and replacing the crank nut.
You'll see all shades of opinion from impossible to I have done it more than once.
The fact that it is possible does not mean everyone is enthusiastic about it or would encourage it. Mainly because there is a world of difference between doable and advisable and maybe that comes from a position of ignorance or old dog hard experience.
That said, the procedure has two features that are perhaps not best practice in my personal semi ignorant view.
First you don't have eyes on the crank timing mark and second the belt has to be persuaded to slip in.

[stuart bowes]

an impact wrench doesnt have to be bank-breakingly expensive:

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clar...impact-wrench/

or

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clar...impact-wrench/

i prefer plug-in anyway, for drills as well, because they don't have that really irritating habit of running out just when you need it the most (or for drills, not having enough juice for things like masonry drilling or hole cutting)

besides how often are you really going to use it, a lot of the time I find there's not enough space to get it in there anyway so you're back to brute force and ignorance

obviously you need a set of impact sockets as well but they come with 4 to get you started

[vickyg]

Taking that cover off did not provide any sensible way to change the belt in our opinion, and to try and feed the belt in that way would almost certainly damage it. Got the Volvo tool on Amazon which was handy and nut came off with a length of scaffold....yes I want a gun but ones of the preferred torque couldn't be got at the speed I needed the job completing. I would advise anyone not to pay too much attention when folk claim successful shortcuts on this job.

[vickyg]

Originally Posted by stuart bowes

an impact wrench doesnt have to be bank-breakingly expensive:

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clar...impact-wrench/

or

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clar...impact-wrench/

i prefer plug-in anyway, for drills as well, because they don't have that really irritating habit of running out just when you need it the most (or for drills, not having enough juice for things like masonry drilling or hole cutting)

besides how often are you really going to use it, a lot of the time I find there's not enough space to get it in there anyway so you're back to brute force and ignorance

obviously you need a set of impact sockets as well but they come with 4 to get you started

That 1100 is certainly a good spec for the price but I'm going to get an air one most likely as have the compressor (and some sockets) already

[vickyg]

Originally Posted by T5R92011

Have a read of the below thread for more inisght:

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=317549&highlight=timing+belt

Also see the comments about the water pump.

Spot on, wish we'd seen sooner. Have D5 and no way would the belt sensbily go through that gap.

[stuart bowes]

Originally Posted by vickyg

That 1100 is certainly a good spec for the price but I'm going to get an air one most likely as have the compressor (and some sockets) already

I have an air line as well but tbh I find my air gun pretty gutless in comparison to the plug-in.. it could be down to the quality of the gun or something maybe I dunno (i think it's clarke?)

the air line is a very handy bit of kit though I do use it all the time with various other tools, if nothing else it's a quick way to pump up your tyres. but you do also have the restriction of length and manoeuvrability of the hose, depending on where the tank is and where you do the work

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by stuart bowes

I have an air line as well but tbh I find my air gun pretty gutless in comparison to the plug-in.. it could be down to the quality of the gun or something maybe I dunno (i think it's clarke?)

the air line is a very handy bit of kit though I do use it all the time with various other tools, if nothing else it's a quick way to pump up your tyres. but you do also have the restriction of length and manoeuvrability of the hose, depending on where the tank is and where you do the work

It could be your compressor. Maybe your air gun needs more “welly”? (A bigger compressor).

[stuart bowes]

possibly, I'll be honest it's not something I've really taken the time to look into or research to any level

the tank is about 3' long so it's not some little thing but also not huge, I've considered playing about with it and seeing if I can adjust it to a higher PSI setting or something.. what's a normal pressure reading, IIRC I saw it sitting at about 60psi but that was only a fleeting glance

for literally everything else it works well, and having a mains impact wrench I guess it wasnt really necessary to play with it